Postmenopausal women with abnormal cholesterol did one year of aerobic exercise, diet, or both; diet plus exercise reduced LDL cholesterol while exercise alone did not change weight or diet.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 180 women · 52 weeks · 1998Midlife womenCited 328 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes following a 6-month Mediterranean lifestyle program combining diet, exercise and stress management reported improved blood sugar control, BMI and quality of life versus usual care.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 279 women · 26 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 168 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did moderate or vigorous treadmill walking for 20 weeks during calorie restriction; both exercise groups preserved lean mass but showed no extra loss of abdominal fat versus diet alone.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 95 women · 20 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 128 timesPubMed
Over 54 months, women given a diet and physical activity program going through perimenopause to postmenopause had smaller LDL cholesterol increases, less weight gain, and smaller waist circumference increase than an assessment-only group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 535 women · 234 weeks · 2001Midlife womenCited 99 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women on a 12 week calorie restricted diet with added aerobic and resistance exercise lost more fat and preserved lean mass compared to diet alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 118 women · 12 weeks · 1993PostmenopausalCited 155 timesPubMed
In 107 overweight postmenopausal women over 6 months, adding resistance training to calorie restriction reduced body fat more but did not further improve lipids, insulin or inflammation markers versus diet alone.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 107 women · 26 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 87 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women in an 18-month diet and physical activity program lost about 17 pounds and showed improved cholesterol, insulin and glucose compared to a health education group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 508 women · 78 weeks · 2006PostmenopausalCited 62 timesPubMed
In 535 premenopausal women aged 44 to 50, a 6-month diet and physical activity program reduced weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar compared with no intervention.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 520 women · 26 weeks · 1995PerimenopausalCited 78 timesPubMed
92 postmenopausal women with obesity did diet, physical-cognitive exercise, or both for 3 months, and exercise groups showed improved memory, BDNF, insulin and body fat versus controls.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 92 women · 12 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 42 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with heart disease followed a lifestyle program combining diet, exercise and stress management for 24 months, reporting improved body mass and quality of life versus usual care.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 28 women · 104 weeks · 2000PostmenopausalCited 75 timesPubMed
A review of 15 intervention studies found that physical activity combined with calorie-restricted diets in postmenopausal women generally reduced body weight, fat mass and waist size and improved blood sugar and fitness.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2010PostmenopausalCited 9 timesPubMed
Obese, sedentary postmenopausal women underwent a 6-month lifestyle change program with increased physical activity and reported reduced weight, fat mass, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 44 women · 26 weeks · 2004PostmenopausalCited 48 timesPubMed
Overweight middle-aged women doing aerobic training three times weekly for 3 months, with or without daily orange juice, both lost fat and improved anaerobic threshold, with juice linked to better LDL and HDL changes.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 26 women · 12 weeks · 2010Midlife womenCited 37 timesPubMed
Protocol describes a planned 12-month trial testing a diet and physical activity weight management program in overweight postmenopausal women attending breast screening; no results reported yet.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 414 women · 52 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed
In 38 dynapenic-obese postmenopausal women over 12 weeks, resistance training improved physical capacity while caloric restriction with or without resistance training improved body composition and metabolic markers.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 38 women · 12 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 26 timesPubMed
Middle-aged women in a diet and physical activity lifestyle programme maintained improvements in weight, cholesterol and blood pressure measures from 6 to 18 months, though some benefits partly declined.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 489 women · 78 weeks · 1998Midlife womenCited 19 timesPubMed
Midlife women did a year of home-based aerobic exercise with slight calorie restriction, showing greater weight loss at 6 months that faded by 12 months, but lasting HDL cholesterol improvement.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 203 women · 52 weeks · 2010Midlife womenCited 17 timesPubMed
240 postmenopausal women on hormone therapy joined a lifestyle intervention or health education over 18 months; the lifestyle group increased physical activity and reduced weight and cholesterol.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 240 women · 78 weeks · 2007PostmenopausalCited 17 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women followed for six months after a 12 week diet with or without exercise showed those who kept exercising had greater fat loss, but bone density was not affected in either group.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 118 women · 78 weeks · 1994PostmenopausalCited 24 timesPubMed
Chinese menopausal transition and early postmenopausal women followed a 12-month diet and aerobic activity program; the intervention group showed greater decreases in weight, blood pressure and cholesterol than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 100 women · 52 weeks · 2014PerimenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed
Obese postmenopausal women on calorie restriction with or without aerobic exercise for 20 weeks lost similar weight and had similar reductions in a lipid-related blood marker, sLOX-1.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 61 women · 20 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 16 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women underwent a 6-month mainly exercise-based weight loss program with estrogen, raloxifene, or placebo; hormone therapy did not increase abdominal fat loss but improved some lipid and glucose measures.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 119 women · 26 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 11 timesPubMed
In 62 menopausal women, 12 weeks of resistance and endurance circuit training combined with time-restricted eating reduced BMI, fat mass, glucose and insulin more than training alone.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 62 women · 12 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed
Sedentary men and postmenopausal women with overweight/obesity did 3 weeks of vigorous treadmill exercise with calorie restriction, reducing weight, fat mass and improving insulin sensitivity without changing gut microbiome.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 30 women · 3 weeks · 2025Midlife womenCited 10 timesPubMed
Obese menopausal women did 6 months of caloric restriction with or without resistance training; adding resistance training improved muscle strength more in women with low baseline strength.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 109 women · 26 weeks · 2015Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with prediabetes did an intensive lifestyle program including 150 minutes of weekly exercise, which lowered LDL and raised HDL cholesterol after one year, mainly among hormone therapy users.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 724 women · 52 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
Perimenopausal women received dietary guidance combined with resistance exercise for three months and showed reduced waist circumference and triglycerides compared to controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 78 women · 12 weeks · 2021PerimenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
Sedentary overweight or obese postmenopausal women underwent a diet based weight loss program with or without resistance training, and visceral fat measured by two methods decreased similarly after the intervention.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 92 women · 2012PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
In a 6 month community weight management program combining diet, counseling and exercise visits, women lost an average of 4.7% body weight, with BMI and lipids improving regardless of menopausal status.
Reported an improvementCohort study · 198 women · 26 weeks · 2006Midlife womenCited 51 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with abdominal obesity used a mobile and internet diet and exercise program for 12 weeks and showed reduced waist circumference, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol versus controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 67 women · 12 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 54 timesPubMed
Obese postmenopausal women who followed 6 months of hypocaloric diet plus low-intensity walking lost weight and abdominal fat and improved lipid and glucose measures, in both Caucasian and African-American women.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 76 women · 26 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 63 timesPubMed
Moderately obese postmenopausal women did diet alone or diet plus walking and resistance exercise for 24 weeks, and both groups lost weight with no added effect of exercise on blood lipids or glucose.
No difference foundControlled trial · 41 women · 24 weeks · 1996PostmenopausalCited 51 timesPubMed
In 22 postmenopausal women on or off hormone therapy, a 3-week low-fat, high-fiber diet with aerobic exercise raised SHBG and lowered insulin, BMI and cholesterol.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 22 women · 3 weeks · 2000PostmenopausalCited 48 timesPubMed
A pilot trial of diet, exercise and stress management in 49 perimenopausal Latinas found the program feasible and acceptable for reducing cardiovascular risk factors over 12 months.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 49 women · 52 weeks · 2026PerimenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women ate high or low oleic acid beef for 6 weeks each and did a single bout of aerobic exercise; exercise blunted the rise in HDL cholesterol caused by the high oleic acid diet.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 17 women · 16 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 22 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women aged 50-60, 8 weeks of Tai Chi combined with time-restricted eating improved cholesterol levels and endothelial function more than time-restricted eating alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 142 women · 8 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did combined aerobic and anaerobic exercise plus diet for 12 weeks and lost more fat with preserved lean mass versus diet alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 118 women · 12 weeks · 1994PostmenopausalPubMed
Twenty postmenopausal women at risk for heart disease did a 2 week diet and daily walking program and showed reduced BMI, insulin, cholesterol, and some inflammatory markers.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 20 women · 2 weeks · 2004PostmenopausalCited 82 timesPubMed
In 76 perimenopausal women, a 3-month diet and exercise program reduced body weight and improved cholesterol in most women, but those with a specific gene mutation showed little weight loss.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 76 women · 13 weeks · 2003PerimenopausalCited 60 timesPubMed
Overweight pre and postmenopausal women following a meal replacement diet plus guided exercise from week 6 to 24 both lost weight, with postmenopausal women showing greater improvements in blood pressure, triglycerides and glucose.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 72 women · 24 weeks · 2007Midlife womenCited 53 timesPubMed
Middle-aged overweight Korean women with high triglycerides did 12 weeks of brisk walking, with or without added diet counseling, and both groups showed reduced triglycerides and apolipoprotein B.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 19 women · 12 weeks · 2006Midlife womenCited 3 timesPubMed
36 obese postmenopausal women did a 6 month diet plus low-intensity walking program, and those with greater drops in fat tissue enzyme activity lost more abdominal fat and regained less weight afterward.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 36 women · 26 weeks · 2000PostmenopausalCited 14 timesPubMed
Overweight middle-aged women did a 4-month diet and exercise program; those with greater BMI reduction showed significantly increased serum GPIHBP1 linked to decreased body weight and fat.
Direction not statedBefore-and-after study · 66 women · 16 weeks · 2017Midlife womenCited 6 timesPubMed
In 56 postmenopausal breast cancer survivors on aromatase inhibitors, a multimodal exercise and health education program reduced metabolic syndrome prevalence, hypertension, central obesity, and triglycerides, and improved quality of life after 3 months.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 56 women · 12 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
Sixty six obese menopausal women followed a structured diet and exercise program for three months and showed reduced weight, blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol, and better quality of life.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 66 women · 12 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
Obese middle-aged women were followed one year after an 18 week jogging and diet program; researchers reported fitness and cholesterol ratio gains were maintained with continued self-directed training.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 13 women · 52 weeks · 1991Midlife womenCited 2 timesPubMed